Fang, Jianqi, Zhang, Liying, Wu, Fangzhen et al. · Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021 · DOI
Baduanjin is a gentle exercise therapy from traditional Chinese medicine that is becoming more popular around the world. This review looked at 47 studies involving 3,877 people to find out what side effects people experienced when doing Baduanjin. Most studies didn't carefully track side effects, but those that did reported issues like muscle aches, heart palpitations, dizziness, knee pain, and fatigue—though it's unclear if Baduanjin actually caused these problems.
Understanding the safety profile of Baduanjin is critical for ME/CFS patients considering this intervention, as post-exertional malaise and symptom exacerbation are central concerns in this population. This review identifies a significant gap in adverse event monitoring in exercise intervention trials and highlights the need for more rigorous safety reporting, which is essential for informed decision-making by ME/CFS patients.
This review does not establish that Baduanjin causes the reported adverse events—only 2 of 47 studies directly attributed adverse events to the intervention. The study cannot determine the true incidence or severity of adverse effects because most trials did not systematically monitor for them, and correlation between Baduanjin and reported symptoms cannot be inferred. No conclusions can be drawn about safety specifically in ME/CFS patients, as the review aggregated findings across diverse populations with varying conditions.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Fang, Jianqi, Zhang, Liying, Wu, Fangzhen, Ye, Jiajia, Cai, Shuhe, & Lian, Xiaowen (2021). The Safety of Baduanjin Exercise: A Systematic Review.. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8867098
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-fang-2021-safety-baduanjin,
author = {Fang, Jianqi and Zhang, Liying and Wu, Fangzhen and Ye, Jiajia and Cai, Shuhe and Lian, Xiaowen},
title = {The Safety of Baduanjin Exercise: A Systematic Review.},
journal = {Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1155/2021/8867098},
note = {PubMed: 33552220},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/fang-2021-safety-baduanjin},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/fang-2021-safety-baduanjin
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